THE GAME: The Boilermakers open the home schedule in Ross-Ade Stadium on Sept. 7 against Indiana State. Both teams are coming off season opening losses as Purdue fell at Cincinnati, 42-7, and Indiana State lost at Indiana, 73-35. First year head coaches Darrell Hazell (Purdue) and Mike Sanford (Indiana State) each look for their first win at their new school. The Boilermakers and Sycamores meet for the fourth time in series history with Purdue leading the series, 3-0. The first meeting came on Oct. 30, 1926, in just the ninth game played in Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers won under head coach Jim Phelan, 38-0. Purdue also knocked off Indiana State on Sept. 22, 1990, 41-13, and on Sept. 2, 2006, 60-35. The game is also Band Day and will feature approximately 1,500 students from 26 Indiana high schools. The bands will take the field at halftime with a show entitled, “Get on Your Feet for Band Day.” The Indiana State University Marching Sycamores, known as “The Pride of Indiana,” will also be in attendance. The Boilermakers and Sycamores kick off at noon on the Big Ten Network with Wayne Larrivee calling the action and J Leman serving as color analyst.Tim Newton will handle the play-by-play on the Purdue Sports Properties radio broadcast with Pete Quinn at his side. Kelly Kitchell will join the crew from the sideline.

HEAD COACH Darrell Hazell: Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell (Muskingum, 1986) dropped his first game as the head coach of the Boilermakers last Saturday against Cincinnati. He was named the school’s 35th head coach on Dec. 5, 2012. Hazell spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at Kent State where he led the Golden Flashes to a 16-10 overall record. The 2012 MAC Coach of the Year led the team to a school-record 11 wins and its first bowl appearance in 40 years. Prior to Kent State, Hazell spent seven years on staff at Ohio State and has also been an assistant coach at Rutgers, West Virginia, U.S. Military Academy, Western Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oberlin College and Eastern Illinois. Hazell is 0-1 at Purdue and 16-11 for his head coaching career.

INDIANA STATE: Mike Sanford begins his sixth season as a head coach and first at Indiana State after a one year stint as the assistant head coach at Utah State in 2012. Sanford is 16-44 overall and 0-1 at Indiana State. The Sycamores are coming off a 73-35 loss at Indiana last Saturday. Indiana State racked up 306 total yards including, 175 through the air. Mike Perish was 11 of 29 for 118 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Shakir Bell led the ground attack with 18 carries for 113 yards. The 35 points scored in week one was the third highest among teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the most against an FBS opponent and the most for a team that did not win. The Sycamores have three players on watch lists as Calvin Burtnett is on the CFPA Defensive Back Award list, Tanner Fritschle is on the placekicker award list and Bell is on the running back award list. Bell is also on the Walter Payton Award watch lists for the third consecutive year and is a preseason First Team All-American.

THIS DATE IN BOILERMAKER HISTORY: Purdue is 1-1 all-time on Sept. 7. In 1991, the Boilermakers, coached by Jim Colletto, drilled Eastern Michigan in their season opener, 49-3, at Ross-Ade Stadium in front of 40,684 fans. In 2002, Joe Tiller’s Purdue team fell at No. 23 Notre Dame, 24-17. The Irish jumped out to a 17-0 lead with a pair of touchdowns on fumble recoveries just 11 seconds apart before the Boilermakers tied it in the third quarter at 17. Notre Dame scored the winning touchdown on an interception return with five minutes left in the game.

LAST TIME OUT: Purdue dropped the season opener at Cincinnati, 42-7, in front of the largest crowd in Nippert Stadium history (36,007). Senior defensive tackle Ryan Isaac recorded his first career interception on the Bearcats’ first offensive play of the game. Rob Henry started at quarterback for Purdue and was 18 of 35 for 161 yards with two interceptions. He also scored the team’s only touchdown on a seven-yard rush in the second quarter. Ryan Russell picked up his first sack of the season and sixth of his career and Frankie Williams collected his third career interception. Cincinnati led 14-7 at the half before controlling the time of possession and scoring four touchdowns in the second half. Purdue had four turnovers which Cincinnati converted into seven points. The Bearcats were 9 for 15 on third down and 3 for 4 on fourth down.

COACHING DEBUTS: While Darrell Hazell dropped his Purdue coaching debut in week one, he was not alone. Of the 31 new head coaches across the FBS, the combined record was 15-15 last week (Sean Kugler, father of Purdue starting center Robert Kugler, and his UTEP team had an opening week bye). Of the 15 wins, three came against other coaches making their debut at a new school. New coaches had much greater success at home as they went 11-4 while those on the road were just 2-9. Four coaches had neutral starts and were 2-2. Also, of the 15 wins, six of them were against FCS opponents. Purdue coaches are 18-17 in their first game coaching the Old Gold and Black and fell to 2-10 when their first game is on the road.

AGAINST THE MVFC:Purdue is 6-0 all-time against teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Boilermakers are 3-0 against Indiana State, 2-0 against Illinois State and 1-0 against Western Illinois.

COACHING CONNECTION:Indiana State head coach Mike Sanford is no stranger to West Lafayette. The first year coach of the Sycamores was a Purdue assistant coach from 1987 to 1989 under head coach Fred Akers. The Boilermakers were 10-22-1 during Sanford’s time at Purdue.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Darrell Hazell’s tenure as Purdue’s head coach starts off with arguably one of the toughest schedules in not only the Big Ten, but also the country. The Boilermakers face four teams that are ranked in the preseason AP poll and four more that are receiving votes. Four of the five road games in the 2013 season are against ranked or teams receiving votes. Purdue opponents combined for a 96-56 record in 2012 and made it to three BCS bowls, including the National Championship. The 96 wins by opponents are tied for the third most of any team’s opponents and the three BCS bowls is tied for the most in the nation. Purdue plays the three BCS bowl teams in consecutive weeks: Notre Dame (9/14), at Wisconsin (9/21) and Northern Illinois (9/28). Purdue’s opponents went 10-2 in the first week of the season, the best possible record, as the two losses came in games that slated two future Boilermaker foes including this week’s opponent, Indiana State.

CAPTAINS’ CORNER: The team and coaching staff voted for captains on Thursday, Aug. 22, and named Ricardo Allen, Bruce Gaston and Rob Henry the leaders of the 2013 squad. Head coach Darrell Hazell specified that three players would be selected and that they all must be seniors with one from offense and defense and the next highest vote-getter.

HENRY’S HERE, AGAIN: Fifth-year senior Rob Henry was named the team’s starting quarterback after fall camp. Henry was tabbed the team’s signal caller in 2011 before a knee injury one week before the opener forced him to miss the entire season. The two-time team captain also was forced into action as a redshirt freshman in 2010, after a slew of injuries at the position, and appeared in 11 games, including seven starts. That season, Henry became the first player in Purdue history to lead the team is passing (996 yds) and rushing (547 yds). He appeared in 11 games last season and threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 74 yards and a score. Henry has 125 career completions which is just 53 shy of top 20 in Purdue history. Henry started last Saturday at Cincinnati, a total of 1,008 days between his last start (Nov. 27, 2010, vs. Indiana). That is the current longest span between starts for a quarterback at the same school and the second longest span for any quarterback. Only Pittsburgh’s Tom Savage, who is scheduled to start against Florida State on Sept. 2, has a longer span as it has been 1,066 days since his last start. Savage’s last start came on Oct. 2, 2010 against Tulane when he was Rutgers’ signal caller.

PURDUE PUNTING: Cody Webster, a member of the 2013 Ray Guy Award watch list for the nation’s top punter, did not disappoint in week one against Cincinnati. Webster had three punts for 169 yards, an average of 56.3 yards. Webster had a long of 73 yards in the game, which was fumbled and recovered by Purdue. The 73-yard boot is the second longest of his career and the longest since his freshman year when he had a 79-yarder at Northwestern. The punt is the second-longest in the country this season behind just Texas A&M’s Drew Kaser who had a 76-yarder. Webster now averages 43 yards per punt for his career, which is second all-time behind only Travis Dorsch (48.5 avg). Webster has165 punts for 7,095 yards and is just two punts from tying Dave Eagin for fifth on the all-time list with 167. Webster’s 43-yard average is third among active punters in the FBS behind Florida’s Kyle Christy (44.0 avg) and Houston’s Richie Leone (43.1 avg).

DYNAMIC DAWKINS: Freshman running back Dalyn Dawkins led the Boilermakers in three statistical categories in his first collegiate game. Dawkins led with 26 rushing yards (6.5 avg), 44 receiving yards and 70 all-purpose yards.

BOILER BRIDGE WALK: Fans have the opportunity to meet and greet the team on Fridays before all home games this season. Head coach Darrell Hazell, the cheerleaders, the Boilermaker Special and Purdue Pete will be on hand as the football team takes the walk across the John Myers Pedestrian Bridge in Lafayette. The event is from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. with the first one on Friday, Sept. 6.

“211 SESSION”: The football team has created a new tradition beginning this season. The 211 session is a major pep rally hosted inside Mackey Arena for all home games. It will begin two hours and 11 minutes prior to kickoff and feature the “All-American” Marching Band, head coach Darrell Hazell, the team, the cheerleaders and Purdue Pete. The event is designed for fans to have a personal connection with the team and create tremendous excitement heading into the game. The session is named such because at 211° water is hot, but at 212° water boils and produces steam, which can power an engine. The excitement from the event will help the atmosphere “rise one degree” and make Ross-Ade Stadium, now nicknamed “The Furnace,” a very difficult place for opponents to play. The inaugural 211 Session is Saturday, Sept. 7, at 9:49 a.m.

BAND DAY: Saturday’s game against Indiana State is also Band Day. The Boilermakers welcome 26 high schools from Indiana as well as the Indiana State University Marching Sycamores, known as “The Pride of Indiana,” to Ross-Ade Stadium. More than 1,500 high school students will participate in the annual event that began in the early 1960s. John Parshall is the guest conductor and will lead the musicians through the halftime show entitled, “Get On Your Feet for Band Day.” Songs will include “Get on Your Feet,” made famous by Gloria Estefan, “Light ‘em Up!” a current hit by Fall Out Boy, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” made popular by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and “Good Time,” a popular song made famous by Carly Rae Jepson and Owl City. The bands will also play some “All-American” hits including “Yankee Doodle” and “America the Beautiful.”

BACK-TO-BACK BOWLS: With last season’s berth in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, the Boilermakers made it to the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 2006-07. The quest for the trifecta continues this season and would be the first time Purdue has made a bowl in three straight seasons since the 2002-04 seasons. The Boilermakers went to eight straight bowls from 1997 to 2004, which is a program record.

FRESHMEN IMPACT: Freshman running back Dalyn Dawkins led the Boilermakers in rushing, receiving and all-purpose yards in his first collegiate game. Freshman DeAngelo Yancey had his first reception against Cincinnati, as did redshirt freshmen B.J. Knauf and Cameron Posey. Knauf also rushed three times for 17 yards (5.7 avg). Redshirt freshman Andy James Garcia had three tackles, while Leroy Clark and Jimmy Herman each had one. A total of 14 freshmen played in the opener.

WATCH LISTED: Four Boilermakers have been named to preseason watch lists for the 2013 season. Senior corner back Ricardo Allen is on the Jim Thorpe Award (best all-around athlete) and Bronko Nagurski Award (top defensive player) watch lists. Senior tight end Gabe Holmes was named to the John Mackey Award (top tight end) watch list, while junior running back Akeem Hunt is on the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player) list. Senior punter Cody Webster was named to the Ray Guy Award (top punter) watch list.

TALE OF TURNOVERS: Turnovers proved to be a strong outcome indicator during the 2012 season and that continued against Cincinnati. Purdue was 2-6 in 2012 when it did not have more takeaways than its opponent, including a 2-5 record when the Boilermakers turned the ball over more than their opponent. When Purdue had more takeaways, the Old Gold and Black was 4-1 with the lone loss coming in overtime. When the Boilermakers did not come up with a takeaway, they were 1-3. Last week, Purdue turned the ball over four times compared to three takeaways, and lost, 42-7.

READING BETWEEN THE LINES: The Boilermakers return 39 starts on the offensive line and 34 on the defensive line from last season. The offensive line helped Purdue rush for 2,165 yards in 2012, while the defensive line starters from last year return 18.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. Sophomore center Robert Kugler looks to lead the offensive line that returns five players with starting experience from a year ago. Senior defensive tackle Bruce Gaston and junior defensive end Ryan Russell return with 14 tackles for loss and four sacks combined from last year to lead the defense, while Ryan Isaac and Jalani Phillips also have starting experience.

DANGEROUS DUO: Akeem Hunt and Raheem Mostert are one of the most dangerous kick return duos in the country. Mostert was the NCAA FBS return leader as a freshman in 2011 with a 33.5 yards per return average (25-837). He had four returns of 71 yards or more, including a 99-yard touchdown against Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Hunt had 867 return yards last season, including a 100-yard return touchdown at Ohio State. Mostert is third among active FBS returners with a 30.1 career average. He trails Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett (33.8 avg) and Duke Johnson of Miami (Fla.) (33.0 avg).

END ZONE ALLEN: Ricardo Allen has a knack for finding the end zone. The senior cornerback has four interceptions returned for touchdowns, which is a school record and currently leads all active players. He is just one pick-six away from tying the NCAA record of five which is held by Darrent Williams, who played at Oklahoma State from 2001 to 2004. Allen is also third among active FBS players in interception return yards with 205 yards. He trails just Wyoming’s Blair Burns (218 yds) and San Jose State’s Bene Benwikere (213 yds).

AIR DEFENSE: Ryan Isaac and Frankie Williams each have an interception already this season as they both picked off Munchie Legaux of Cincinnati. Williams has three for his career. The Boilermakers picked off 14 passes last year including three returned for touchdowns to set a program record. Returning players had 10 of those interceptions, led by Landon Feichter’s four, which tied for the Big Ten’s best.

BABY BOILERS: There are 52 freshmen, 29 true and 23 redshirt, on the Purdue roster for the 2013 season. In comparison, there are 17 sophomores, 21 juniors and 22 seniors. Student-athletes with freshman eligibility make up 46.4 percent of the 112-player roster. The Boilermakers played 14 freshmen, three true and 11 redshirt, in the season opener at Cincinnati.

REBUILDING THE STABLE: The Boilermakers need to replace running backs Ralph Bolden and Akeem Shavers, who both graduated last season. The duo rushed 235 times for 1,226 yards (5.2 avg) and six touchdowns in 2012. While Akeem Hunt looks to get the majority of the reps, junior Brandon Cottom had 23 carries last year for 209 yards (9.1 avg) and two touchdowns, including an 87-yard score against Eastern Michigan and will help carry the load. Freshman Dalyn Dawkins also looks to be a large part of the group as he led the offense in rushing, receiving and all-purpose yards at Cincinnati with 26, 44 and 70, respectively.

IRON MEN: Junior defensive end Ryan Russell has 25 career starts, including 17 straight. Senior defensive tackle Bruce Gaston has 14 straight starts and 33 total for his career, the second most on the team. Junior safety Landon Feichter has 15 starts, including 14 consecutive. Junior safety Taylor Richards has started 14 consecutive and total games. Junior linebacker Joe Gilliam is the only other returning Purdue defender to start all 13 games last year. He has 14 in a row and 15 total for his career. Senior corner back Ricardo Allen started 11 games last season and has 37 total for his career to lead the team. Senior wide receiver Gary Bush is the only returning player on offense who started all 13 games last year. He played against Cincinnati, but did not start.

DEN OF DEFENSIVE ENDS: Purdue has a longstanding history of producing elite defensive ends. Among the greats are Rosevelt Colvin and Chike Okeafor from the late 1990s, Akin Ayodele, Shaun Phillips, Ray Edwards and Rob Ninkovich from the early 2000s, and Anthony Spencer, Cliff Avril and most recently Ryan Kerrigan, all since 2006. Leo Sugar, Keena Turner and Lamar Lundy are also in the club. Junior Ryan Russell wants to continue making his case for a spot among the elite this season. Through their first two seasons, Russell and Kerrigan’s numbers are very similar.

Player

Tackles

TFL

Sacks

FF

FR

Kerrigan

74

12.5

8

2

0

Russell

70

13

5

3

3

Russell had a strong start to his junior season with six tackles, one for loss and one sack at Cincinnati. In comparison, Kerrigan had seven tackles in the first game of his junior year.

FROM MAC TO B1G: Five of the 12 head coaches in the Big Ten Conference have been a head coach in the Mid-American Conference at some point in their careers. Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell is the latest to join the club as he came to the Boilermakers from Kent State (2011-12). Ohio State’s Urban Meyer coached at Bowling Green (2001-02), Illinois’ Tim Beckman came from Toledo (2009-11), Minnesota’s Jerry Kill made the switch from Northern Illinois (2008-10) and Michigan’s Brady Hoke began his head coaching career at Ball State (2003-08). Some of the Big Ten and country’s most successful coaches began in the MAC including Alabama’s Nick Saban (Toledo, 1990), former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes (Miami, 1949-50) and former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler (Miami, 1963-68) among many others.

SEASON OPENING QBs: Purdue has had five different opening game quarterbacks in the last six years, and none who have started the opener in back-to-back seasons during that span. Henry made his first season opening start last Saturday at Cincinnati. Robert Marve had two season-opening starts, one in 2010 and the other in 2012.

HOME OPENING SUCCESS: Purdue has had success as of late in its home openers. The Boilermakers take a nine game home opener winning streak into Saturday’s contest against Indiana State. The streak includes the 2006 win over the Sycamores, 60-35. Purdue has also won 15 of its last 16 home openers with the lone loss of the streak coming in 2003 against Bowling Green, 27-26. The Boilermakers are 85-36-4 all-time in home openers.

BOUNCING BACK: The Boilermakers have been able to bounce back from the first loss of the season for three consecutive years. Last year Purdue beat Eastern Michigan, 54-16, a week after losing at Notre Dame. In 2011, the Boilermakers blanked Southeast Missouri, 59-0, a week after losing at Rice. In 2010, Purdue knocked off Western Illinois, 31-21, a week after losing at Notre Dame.

AGAINST THE REST OF INDIANA: Purdue is 118-105-8 against teams from Indiana in the FBS and FCS combined. That record includes a 106-93-8 record against FBS Indiana teams and 12-3 against FCS Indiana teams. Purdue is 3-0 against Indiana State and 9-3 against Butler for FCS schools, while the Boilermakers are 72-37-6 against Indiana, 8-0 against Ball State and 26-56-2 against Notre Dame for FBS schools.

TICKET SALES:As of Aug. 30, Purdue had sold 30,350 season tickets (including 6,606 students), an increase of nearly 10 percent over last season. There were 5,657 new season ticket sales. The last time Purdue had an increase in season ticket sales was 2007 (8 percent more than 2006).

Season Ticket Sales By Year Since 2007

2007 42,880

2008 40,824

2009 34,523

2010 31,701

2011 28,911

2012 27,672

2013 30,350 (as of Aug. 30)

BOILERMAKER DEPOT: For all information regarding the activities on campus during game week, fans have a one-stop spot for it all. The “Boilermaker Depot” lists all the happenings on and around campus for the excitement leading up to each big game. It can be accessed by going to BoilermakerDepot.com.

BOILERS HEADED WEST: Following the 2013-14 academic year, the Big Ten Conference welcomes the University of Maryland and Rutgers University to the league. The addition of the two schools will give the Big Ten 14 teams and will mark the end of the “Legends” and “Leaders” divisions in football. The conference redivided its teams into new “East” and “West” divisions and the Boilermakers will be joined by Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin in the West. In the East division are Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers. Purdue’s Old Oaken Bucket Rivalry with Indiana is the only protected crossover game and will continue to take place at the end of each season.

HEADING TO THE HALL OF FAME: Purdue has selected nine individuals to enter its Hall of Fame on Sept. 28, 2013, including four from Boilermaker football. Tony Butkovich, Alpha P. Jamison, Matt Light and Joe Tiller will enter the now 135 member Hall of Fame.Butkovich was a running back in 1943 and was First Team All-America and First Team All-Big Ten. He helped Purdue go undefeated and win the Big Ten Title. A member of the U.S. Marine Corps, he was killed in action in Okinawa, Japan in 1945.Jamison was an elite running back and fullback for the 1894 team that went 9-1 and was declared national champions. He played for five years and helped the team go 30-10 during that span. He also was on the baseball and track teams before graduating in 1895. He then coached the football team from 1898 to 1900 and went 11-11-1, before switching to basketball. He was the second basketball coach in Purdue history from 1900 to 1901, including a 12-0 season his final year.Light was a four year letterwinner from 1996 to 2000 at tight end and left tackle. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection including first team pick in 2000. He was named a Gannett News All-American and Football News third team All-American his final season. Light was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2001 and started from his rookie season until he retired in 2012. Light was a two-time Pro Bowl Selection and helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls.Tiller spent 15 years coaching at Purdue, three as an assistant (1982-85), and 12 as the head coach (1997-2008). He holds the program record with 87 victories and was 53-43 in Big Ten Conference games. He coached 149 games which is the most in Purdue history. Tiller brought the spread offense to Purdue which was dubbed “Basketball on Grass.” He took the team to 10 bowl games, including the 2001 Rose Bowl.